Checkpoint races like Transcontinental Race are cool and fun. But ultra cycling is a bit too extreme for some of us. I wouldn't find it fun to sleep for just a few hours and face risks of theft or decreased trafic safety as a result of lack of sleep...

Are there any checkpoint race with normal day stages? maybe 200-300 km per day? This could be run as a normal time trial with no drafting allowed.

If nothing like this exists, is this something you would like to participate in?

I would like 2-300km stages with 2 to 3 checkpoints in between - good to have some checkpoints to see the exact time difference between the riders. There could also be a 30 mins break on each checkpoint where the organazier could sell drinks and food. At night the riders could camp with tent on rest places. The organizer could take all the tents and valuable stuff from one camp place to the next.

That sounds pretty niche. Drop the checkpoints and 30 minute breaks, which is really weird (does everyone have to take a 30 minute break? How are you going to time it for every rider?) and you might find people interested in it, but it basically sounds like a glamping version of a short Indian-Pacific Wheel Race.

King Boonen wrote:That sounds pretty niche. Drop the checkpoints and 30 minute breaks, which is really weird (does everyone have to take a 30 minute break? How are you going to time it for every rider?) and you might find people interested in it, but it basically sounds like a glamping version of a short Indian-Pacific Wheel Race.

Those 30 mins break are not important.

What I was thinking was to have "sub stages" within a "day stage" and then the time is stopped on each checkpoint. Each rider can take up to 30 minutes break. I tried this with some friends, just as a 1-day race, and I think it was a cool format. If someone wants to try it out for training, I recommend using churches as checkpoints. There you have access to toilet and water

An advantage of having these breaks is that you get some time to buy food instead of having to visit shops beside the road. Also you don't get the "peeing in public" issue since the breaks give time to go to toilet.